by Stewart MasonAlthough Flee the Seen was the first band signed to the alternative CCM label Facedown Records whose music is not explicitly Christian in nature, the four-piece post-hardcore act from Kansas City, MO, still maintains a lyrically positive stance in the midst of their screamo assault. The roots of Flee the Seen lie in the small western Missouri college town of St. Joseph, where bassist and lead singer Kim Anderson and guitarist R.L. Brooks met while attending Missouri Western State University. After a number of false starts -- including one short-lived group, Fighting Chance, that released a self-titled EP in 2003 -- Brooks and Anderson settled in Kansas City and formed Flee the Seen in late 2003, adding rhythm guitarist Manuel Sanchez and drummer Aaron Crawford to complete the lineup. Flee the Seen debuted with a self-released 2004 demo EP called The Sound of Sirens; the record and the band's extensive Midwestern tour schedule attracted the attention of Facedown Records, which signed the quartet in late 2005. Rather than enter the studio on the label's dime, Flee the Seen brought Facedown an already completed album they had financed themselves. Flee the Seen's full-length debut album, Doubt Becomes the New Addiction, was released in spring 2006, with a nationwide tour following. In early 2007, the band added new bassist Lucas Dills so that Anderson could concentrate solely on singing.